Food insecurity is a risk factor for elevated levels of depression symptoms among low‐income pregnant Latinas

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine predictors of elevated levels of prenatal depression symptoms among low‐income Latinas (N=134). Depression symptoms were assessed using the 20‐item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES‐D). 24.1% reported elevated levels of depressive symptoms (cutoff value ≥ 24). Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine significant predictors (p<0.10) of elevated levels of prenatal depression symptoms. Participants who experienced food insecurity during pregnancy, measured by an adapted version of the US Household Food Security Survey Module, were 2.7 times more likely to experience elevated levels of prenatal depression symptoms compared to those who were food secure (95% CI: 1.01–7.09). Other risk factors for elevated levels of prenatal depression symptoms were lower levels of social support, experiencing heartburn, self‐perceived poor/fair health, being Puerto Rican, and lower maternal age. These findings suggest that food insecurity, self‐perceived health, and the presence of physical symptoms during pregnancy are important factors for clinicians to measure when evaluating depression risk among low‐income pregnant Latinas. Funded by Connecticut NIH EXPORT Center for Eliminating Health Disparities among Latinos (NIH‐NCMHD Grant # P20MD0017650).